It’s graduation time again. This week, two of my students are graduating here in Northwest Arkansas. Averee Dahler is graduating from Fayetteville High School, and Brady Richards is graduating from Farmington High School. I have another student who is finishing his homeschool journey this month as well, but that celebration will look different. If you are in student ministry, May can be a crazy month. Among our children and students, we have students from multiple school districts. I’m a little jealous of some of you who simply have one school system to watch over. There have been years when I have attended as many as five graduations. That was an exhausting year. This year, there are only two.
As we sit through name after name being called, a lot can go through our minds. You may be thinking about the hole left by the student’s absence. You may be thinking about a graduation celebration for your seniors. I would encourage you to spend time praying for your graduating students. You can do this at other times as well, but the presentation of diplomas is a great time to talk to God. So, take the time. Pray for them.
• Offer prayers of thanksgiving for that student and their family. God has given you time to invest in them, and He has shaped you through your time with the student. Celebrate the gift of that young man or woman in your ministry. Thank God for how they have grown in their relationship with God and His church. If you haven’t seen growth or other positive changes, simply thank God for your time with that young person and for how your stories are now interconnected.
• Pray that the student will grow in their relationship with God. Whether the student always chimes in with an answer or rarely has much to say, the need is the same. We all need to grow in our relationship with the Father. Pray that God will provide the people, opportunities, and circumstances that will help them grow.
• Pray that the distractions of work and college will not pull them away from God. High school graduation is a major milestone, marking the end of one journey and the beginning of another. That journey may or may not include college, but it should always include God. Young love, financial stressors, family expectations, and more can pull our graduates away from God. Pray for a singular focus on God to consume their lives as they make choices and decisions that will shape their entire lives.
• Pray that God will give them opportunities in ministry and missions during their young adult years. As students head off to college, we should pray that God will open doors of ministry for them. While they may not be swimming in extra time, many graduates are entering a season with fewer responsibilities than they will carry later in life. Our students have choices to make regarding that extra time. Pray that they will see that God can and wants to use them in greater ways.
You know your students. They may face other stressors in their lives, but these four give us a place to start as we pray for them. As we celebrate their successes as students, it is important not to forget to pray. Let’s give God the glory and turn our students back over to God.
Join us at facebook.com/groups/StudentMinistryMattersCommunity and share how you pray for your students as they step forward in their lives.
